As I informed you all in my last post, I did make a rather naughty purchase recently.. The christmas cash was on hand and well I figured it was quite the investment.
As a pale lady finding the perfect foundation is no easy feat. The foundation market is MASSIVE and to be honest about 90% of it completely useless to someone with a pale complexion. The masses of orange-toned and yellow foundations out there can sometimes make it seem near impossible to find something that suits. I had to bite the bullet and go higher end to get a foundation that wasn't gonna make me look like I'd dived head first into orange paint - very unflattering orange paint. My combination skin type never really helped matters, some were too dry and others too greasy. I found myself fleeting to MAC only to be matched incorrectly 3 times and then ultimately told 'they didn't make my foundation shade in a non-drying foundation'. Nightmare. I really had thought MAC was the place to go, clearly I was wrong. It was from that day that my mission began.. I watched and read countless reviews on foundations to try and find something I would be happy with, it was tedious to say the least. If you're someone who always managed to find their foundation shade quite easily, god how I envy you.
My ultimate saviour came in the form of one brand... a brand i'd never considered before. It floated amongst the make-up counters in Debenhams but i'd never quite ventured over, but having exhausted all other measures I decided I had nothing to lose and went over to talk to the lady at the Bare Minerals counter (sometimes named Bare Escentuals, just depends). When she first described the concept of the mineralized foundation alarm bells were ringing in my head 'DRY SKIN. POWDER AND DRY SKIN DISASTER'. But when she offered to test run the foundation on me, I couldn't say no. She was so pleasant and helpful, listening to my foundation woes and giving me general advice. I applied moisturizer, Prime Time primer by the brand and then she proceeded to match my foundation shade. When she handed me a mirror I had to supress a squeal of delight - I had found a foundation that a actually matched my face! The foundation feels weightless and smooth on the skin, not greasy or heavy or cakey. It is quite simply, just perfect. I have truely become a Bare Minerals convert and I don't think I'll ever quite go back.
The coverage is buildable depending on the brush and amount of product used, but I'll go into greater detail on that later. I decided to go for the best value for money and get their new 'Get Started 8 piece kit' which allows you add your matched foundation in an 8g pot. The foundation also has an SPF of 15 - always handy.
Here's what the kit looks like:
The Bare Minerals website describes it like this:
"Our ORIGINAL SPF 15 Foundation gives you all the flawless coverage you want with a naturally luminous finish that won't clump or cake. It's proven to improve the appearance of your skin over time. The creamy minerals diminish the look of fine lines and wrinkles without drying out your skin. Its silky, soft texture looks like a powder, but feels like a cream and buffs on beautifully. Made with only the purest, highest quality ingredients. It's makeup so pure you can sleep in it.®"
The foundation comes in about 20 shades, very impressive. I am the shade Fairly Light Which is their 2nd palest shade, the palest being Fair but they cover the entire spectrum of skin tones to be honest.
The Kit costs about £49. Which seems very steep i'll admit, but it is such good value for money when you consider what you're getting. The brushes in the kit alone would cost you £57!! Never mind the fact the foundation seperately is £24, the All over face colour (warmth) £19 and the Mineral veil £20.. that's not including the sample size primer and instructional DVD. No matter how much it might hurt handing over the £50..This kit is amazingg value.
Here are the brushes you get in the kit:
The brushes are crazy soft and work so well for buffing the makeup seemlessly onto the skin, I just love them. I will note however that I had a bit of fallout from the brush in my first use, this could however of been a first application problem though. They still work beautifully. I used the top brush for buffing in the foundation, the second for applying the Mineral Veil (to seal my makeup and hide pores even more) and then to add some of the bronzer. I used the last brush for some precise foundation application in areas where I needed a bit more converage, blemishes and things. Overall, they're a winner. I agree that it really does create a luminous 'soft focus finish' you have to try it out to see for yourself.
Here's the three mineral products:
The lighting here is pretty pathetic I'll admit, the foundation is much paler in true lighting. As a pale kid my inital feelings towards the bronzer were sheer horror as the woman came at my face with the product. I have NEVER gone near bronzer never mind one that daunting a colour. But the colour payoff is surprisingly natural with a light hand and minimal product, I have just about got the hang of it! Don't be as afraid as I was all you people with pale complexions, it's workable I promise. In my opinion the products in combination work beautifully together! I couldn't be more happy with my purchase.
So here's an overall view of everything you get:
If you're struggling to find the perfect foundation, give Bare Minerals a go.. I don't think you'll be dissapointed. I'm happy my foundation hunt is finally over :D
You can find the kit in a number of places in the UK, here's a few:
The Bare Minerals website
Debenhams
House of Fraser
Thanks guys Much Love,
Natalie xxx
Have you had your own foundation woes? - comment :)
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